For a proper understanding of the operation and benefits of this new apparatus, the concepts required thereto, including the related problems, are firstly described.
Sexually transmitted diseases (STD) are those which are transmitted during sexual intercourse being usually asymptomatic and where any sexually active person is at risk of acquiring them.
There are several types of pathogens that produce them, including: mycoses producing fungi, bacteria, protozoa and viruses.
We found the combination of multiple pathogens in most of infected cases. Vaginosis and cervicitis remain as the most common worldwide, high economic impact, female genital tract disorders in reproductive-age women.
The human papilloma virus in these diseases requires special attention because it is the cause of neoplasms, which are the cervical cancer precursor lesions.
The virus genus Papilloma is too long, being DNA viruses that infect many animal species, including humans. There are over 100 types of these known as Human Papilloma Virus (HVP).
Interest in these viruses has increased gradually since 1970, when they had firstly an attributed role in cervical cancer etiology.
Cervical cancer is a common type of cancer in women, being a change in the cervix epithelial tissue cells and also in vaginal walls and vulva. These cells are initially normal and they then gradually become precancerous. Tissues undergo changes before cancer cells are present in the cervix, and abnormal cells called koilocytes begin to appear, this process known as dysplasia or cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN).
There are over 30 types of HVP virus having the ability to infect the lower female genital tract; benign virus called “low risk” and other oncogenic called “high risk” are within these types. The high-risk viral type in America has been the HPV 16 Asian-American variety in about 50% of cases.
Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers in women. More than 500,000 cases per year are estimated worldwide. About 80% of these occur in developing countries. The high event incidence reflects poor programs in early disease detection, and a lack of new medical devices for diagnosis and treatment thereof.
Phototherapy is the action of light on biological tissues for therapeutic purposes. A phenomenon of the interaction of light with a dye called acridine was observed in 1900 which was also used in histological staining techniques, noticing that this dye when ingested by a living organism called paramecium caused its death when exposed to light.
The first oncology use was in 1903 when another histology dye called eosin together with light was used and applied to a skin cancer type with curing purposes.
Hematoporphyrins started their use in cancer research in 1914, these dyes and fluorochromes being called photosensitizers. Many attempts were then flawed due to impurities present in these photosensitizers.
Nowadays it is said that photodynamic therapy (PTD) is a therapeutic method based on biological material photooxidation induced by incubating a precursor for a photosensitizing agent, which is selectively deposited within target cells or blank cells, in order to destroy selectively damaged or altered cells in their nuclear structure.
Damage is due to high oxygen molecule reactions producing oxygen intermediates such as singlet oxygen, the main death cause of tumor cells.
In 1969, Richard Lipson and Gregorie observed that hematoporphyrins derivatives (HPD) could be used as photosensitizing agents on tumor cells as these agents have a mitochondrial specificity mechanism, being deposited in neoplastic tissue which when lighted up, a selective destroy is achieved without any damage to adjacent healthy tissues.
Besides therapeutic applications, this treatment is also used as a diagnosis method currently known as photodynamic diagnosis (PDD), since the photosensitizer emitted fluorescence may be detected by tumor tissues notably distinguished from healthy tissues.
Most commonly used photosensitizing agents are 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), methyl aminolevulinate (MAL) and hexaminolevulinate (RAL). ALA is considered the first step in the metabolic process of hemo-group formation, then it may actually not be a photosensitizing agent by itself, however, its structure is crucial as a protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) precursor which is indeed a photosensitizing agent and when under normal conditions, ALA is firmly controlled by a feedback direct mechanism through Ala synthetase present in hemo-cell nuclei. When ALA is intracellularly activated PpIX production is increased, which in turn becomes into hemo through a ferrochelatase adding iron ions to PpIX. Such photosensitizing agents may be administered by enteral, parenteral and topical route.
In the nineteenth century during 1875, Jacques-Arsene d'Arsonval who was a laboratory apprentice of the famous physiologist Claude Bernal, began experimenting with high-frequency electrical current therapeutic application applied to a number of diseases; at that time (1892) d'Arsonval met Nikola Tesla and both shared views and knowledge in harmony. From these experiments a new medical device emerged which could generate radio frequency waves like transmission waves of amplitude modulation in current commercial band, and these were applied to human body using an applicator consisting of a vacuum glass tube, capable of safely transmitting electric and photon current to human body in the form of electric arc but effective for curing various diseases, especially those caused by pathogenic microorganisms, and which due to ozone and light occurring around the tube, the ozone may kill these pathogens.
Frederick Finch Strong was the physician who invented this glass vacuum tube in 1896, which was further used in the telegraph and radio telephone industry of that era when the first bulbs were made with this principle.
d'Arsonval's apparatus or machine is built with a Ruhmkorff induction coil, Leiden bottles (now known as capacitors), lighters, a high frequency d'Arsonval coil, an Oudin resonator whereby the end cable thereof is connected to the applicator electrode, which is the Strong Finch vacuum glass tube.
Since early in twentieth century to early 50's, thousands of these devices were built within the United States of America, these devices being known as “violet ray machine.” These devices were out from trade in the U.S. about 1954 due to chemical and pharmaceutical industry pressure and also due to medical abuse thereon. FDA has currently approved again the use thereof in America. However, in countries such as Germany, Russia, Ukraine and others in Europe, the benefits of the violet ray machine—known in Europe as “d'Arsonval machine”—are still under research.
Nowadays, the electro-photonic light arc occurring within a Finch Strong tube may be of any color, and this is why we are the first authors worldwide in introducing these knowledge and techniques within the field of photodynamic therapy.
Within the application of these rays as part of our Stereocolposcope, we have as innovation in the female genital tract therapy:
A).—When producing a powerful electric and light arc, we may cause that the photodynamic therapy photosensitizer reacts more effectively in singlet oxygen production within neoplastic or cancerous cells, thus eliminating them.
B).—In producing a photoelectric arc, a diathermic effect innocuous heat also favors the photosensitizer reaction.
C).—As stated in previous paragraph, the photoelectric arc color may be located in the intended visible spectral frequency so that its use is universal, i.e., we may apply it to any current or future photosensitizer available in market for photodynamic therapy as each laboratory or brand thereof reacts at different spectral wavelength.
D.)—In photoelectric arc production, a large amount of ozone lethal for several pathogens is formed thus fighting them within the female genital tract.
The commonly used method for light energy application and transportation in photodynamic therapy is by using optical fibers. An optical fiber is a tube wherein light is transmitted through its ends, this physical phenomenon known as refraction. This knowledge is not new since physicist John Tyndall in England demonstrated in nineteenth century that water from a tank comprising an internal light source, when expelled through a hole, the water jet led light to the receiving vessel.
Image transmission through tubes was made by radio experimenter Clarence Hansel and television pioneer John Logie Baird in 1920; the first uses of these tubes were for medical examination purposes; the first flexible gastroscope was released years later in 1956.
Nowadays, several optical fiber types are available in market, whether in fiber bundles or mono-cable, which are widely used in optical field for multiple purposes depending on their characteristics.
The latest optical fibers for medical applications, given their high light flux conduction, flexibility and durability, contain fluorinate, ethylene and propylene resins (FEP), which are under experimentation in this field in Australia.